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Marine bioconstructions are biodiversity-rich, three-dimensional biogenic structures, regulating key ecological functions of benthic ecosystems worldwide. Tropical coral reefs are outstanding for their beauty, diversity and complexity, but analogous types of bioconstructions are also present in temperate seas. The main bioconstructions in the Mediterranean Sea are represented by coralligenous formations, vermetid reefs, deep-sea cold-water corals, Lithophyllum byssoides trottoirs, coral banks formed by the shallow-water corals Cladocora caespitosa or Astroides calycularis, and sabellariid or serpulid worm reefs. Bioconstructions change the morphological and chemicophysical features of primary substrates and create new habitats for a large variety of organisms, playing pivotal roles in ecosystem functioning. In spite of their importance, Mediterranean bioconstructions have not received the same attention that tropical coral reefs have, and the knowledge of their biology, ecology and distribution is still fragmentary. All existing data about the spatial distribution of Italian bioconstructions have been collected, together with information about their growth patterns, dynamics and connectivity. The degradation of these habitats as a consequence of anthropogenic pressures (pollution, organic enrichment, fishery, coastal development, direct physical disturbance), climate change and the spread of invasive species was also investigated. The study of bioconstructions requires a holistic approach leading to a better understanding of their ecology and the application of more insightful management and conservation measures at basin scale, within ecologically coherent units based on connectivity: the cells of ecosystem functioning.

Navigating the Future is a publication series produced by the European Marine Board providing future perspectives on marine science and technology in Europe. Navigating the Future V (NFV) highlights new knowledge obtained since Navigating the Future IV (2013). It is set within the framework of the 2015 Paris Agreement and builds on the scientific basis and recommendations of the IPCC reports. NFV gives recommendations on the science required during the next decade to deliver the ocean we need to support a sustainable future. This will be important for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021 – 2030), the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the European Commission’s next framework programme, Horizon Europe (2021 - 2027). There is a growing need to strengthen the links between marine science, society and policy since we cannot properly manage what we do not know. In recent years, the ocean and seas have received new prominence in international agendas. To secure a safe planet a priority is the management of the ocean as a “common good for humanity”, which requires smarter observations to assess of the state of the ocean and predictions about how it may change in the future. The ocean is a three-dimensional space that needs to be managed over time (thus four-dimensional), and there is a need for management and conservation practices that integrate the structure and function of marine ecosystems in these four dimensions. This includes understanding the dynamic spatial and temporal interplay between ocean physics, chemistry and biology. Multiple stressors including climate change, pollution and over-fishing affect the ocean and we need to better understand and predict their interactions and identify tipping points to decide on management priorities. This should integrate our understanding of land-ocean-atmosphere processes and approaches to reducing impacts. An improved science base is also needed to help predict and minimize the impact of extreme events such as storm surges, heat waves, dynamic sea-floor processes and tsunamis. New technologies, data handling and modelling approaches will help us to observe, understand and manage our use of the four-dimensional ocean and the effect of multiple stressors. Addressing these issues requires a strategic, collective and holistic approach and we need to build a community of sustainability scientists that are able to provide evidence-based support to policy makers within the context of major societal challenges. We outline the new frontiers, gaps and recommendations needed to manage the ocean as a common good and to develop solutions for a sustainable future. The governance of sustainability should be at the core of the marine research agenda through co-production and collaboration with stakeholders to identify priorities. There is need for a fully integrated scientific assessment of resilience strategies, associated trade-offs and underlying ethical concepts for the ocean, which should be incorporated into decision support frameworks that involve stakeholders from the outset. To accurately assess the state of the ocean and make predictions for the future, research programmes should be co-designed with stakeholders. Achieving the ocean we need for a sustainable future by 2030 will require sustainability science, which is holistic and transdisciplinary. To allow the collection, processing and access to all data, a key priority is the development of a business model that ensures the long-term economic sustainability of ocean observations.

Navigating the Future is a publication series produced by the European Marine Board providing future perspectives on marine science and technology in Europe. Navigating the Future V (NFV) highlights new knowledge obtained since Navigating the Future IV1 (2013). It is set within the framework of the 2015 Paris Agreement2 and builds on the scientific basis and recommendations of the IPCC reports3. NFV gives recommendations on the science required during the next decade to deliver the ocean we need to support a sustainable future. This will be important for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development4 (2021 – 2030), the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals5 and the European Commission’s next framework programme, Horizon Europe6 (2021 - 2027). There is a growing need to strengthen the links between marine science, society and policy since we cannot properly manage whatwe do not know.In recent years, the ocean and seas have received new prominence in international agendas. To secure a safe planet a priority is the management of the ocean as a “common good for humanity”, which requires smarter observations to assess of the state of the ocean and predictions about how it may change in the future. The ocean is a three-dimensional space that needs to be managed over time (thus four-dimensional), and there is a need for management and conservation practices that integrate the structure and function of marine ecosystems into these four dimensions (Chapter 2). This includes understanding the dynamic spatial and temporal interplay between ocean physics, chemistry and biology. Multiple stressors including climate change, pollution and over-fishing affect the ocean and we need to better understand and predict their interactions and identify tipping points to decide on management priorities (Chapter 3). This should integrate our understanding of land-ocean-atmosphere processes and approaches to reducing impacts. An improved science base is also needed to help predict and minimize the impact of extreme events such as storm surges, heat waves, dynamic sea-floor processes and tsunamis (Chapter 4). New technologies, data handling and modelling approaches will help us to observe, understand and manage our use of the fourdimensional ocean and the effect of multiple stressors (Chapter 5).Addressing these issues requires a strategic, collective and holistic approach and we need to build a community of sustainability scientists that are able to provide evidence-based support to policy makers within the context of major societal challenges (Chapter 6). We outline new frontiers, knowledge gaps and recommendations needed to manage the ocean as a common good and to develop solutions for a sustainable future (Chapter 7). The governance of sustainability should be at the core of the marine research agenda through co-production and collaboration with stakeholders to identify priorities. There is need for a fully integrated scientific assessment of resilience strategies, associated trade-offs and underlying ethical concepts for the ocean, which should be incorporated into decision support frameworks that involve stakeholders from the outset. To allow the collection, processing and access to all data, a key priority is the development of a business model that ensures the long-term economic sustainability of ocean observations.

The Supplement to vol. 6, 2016 of SCIRES-IT contains the result of CoCoNet (Towards COast to COast NETworks of marine protected areas, coupled with sea-based wind energy potential), a project of the EU Oceans of Tomorrow programme (http://www.coconet-fp7.eu). The European Union requires Open Access to the results of the projects resulting from its support to scientific advancement. This is in full accordance with the policy of SCIRES-IT, an open–access eco-sustainable journal, which joins the main principles of the Berlin Declaration on Open Access with the aims of the International Convention on Biological Diversity. CoCoNet tackled two problems that are closely linked with each other: the protection of the marine environment and clean energy production. Hence, the Supplement is divided into two parts that, together, form a unicum.

SCIRES-IT- SCIentific RESearch and Information Technology is an eco-sustainable Open Access Journal providing an international forum for the exchange and sharing of know-how in the areas of Digitalization and Multimedia Technologies and Information & Communication Technology in support of Cultural and environmental Heritage documentation, preservation and fruition. It combines the main principles of the Berlin Declaration on Open Access with the aims of the International Convention on Biological Diversity. Founded in 2011 and directed mainly and admirably by women, SCIRES-IT has achieved, in a few years, very high scientific levels and degrees of openness, complying with Best Practice and high publishing standards.

Politica e diritto sembrano non essersi ancora del tutto accorte dello stato di emergenza ecologicain cui viviamo, sotto minaccia di estinzione come specie, che gli ecologisti ormai da tempo con forza denunciano. Scienza e diritto in questo campo faticano a dialogare. Il modello di governance ambientale cui gli ordinamenti internazionale e nazionali si ispirano è quello dello sviluppo sostenibile, del principio di precauzione e della limitazione del danno secondo gli standard tecnologici vigenti. Gli ecologisti ne segnalano le insufficienze. Un approccio ai problemi ambientali di tipo interdisciplinare e olistico è l'unica via per rendere veramente possibili un cambio di rotta. I contributi qui raccolti, presentati al convegno dal titolo omonimo svoltosi a Ravenna presso la Scuola di Giurisprudenza il 9 e 10 marzo 2017, rappresentano un primo tentativo di dialogo interdisciplinare alla ricerca di un nuovo paradigma giuridico di governo dell'ecosistema.